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On Tuesday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, the guys react to Coach Mike Vrabel's press conference ahead of the first day of Patriots training camp. The guys shared their takeaways from Vrabel's comments, and how they think he will impact the team this season.
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00:00The five weeks that they took off, that was one of the lasting things
00:05Vrabel talked about was they're very important.
00:08He said that everyone met the expectations.
00:11Stephon Diggs, ready to go, cleared, and passed his physical
00:15and can practice with no limitations.
00:17And he credited him, credited Epps, who has the same surgery
00:21that we'll get into him later.
00:22But for the most part, he's been encouraged by everything the team did
00:26for those five weeks.
00:26Yeah, and I think it's a work environment too.
00:28Like, they're stepping out up a sense of urgency.
00:30You heard that thrown around.
00:33They're going to be moving.
00:34The offense is going to be doing one thing against the defense,
00:36and then something else is going to be going on over here.
00:39So they're going to get as much accomplished, I think,
00:41while they're out there on the field.
00:42And it looks like the timing of these practices are going to be smack
00:45right there in the late morning.
00:46So that's good for fans to get down there and check them out.
00:49And he talked about maximizing the time,
00:51and that doesn't necessarily mean going 100% all the time, right?
00:54He talked about how they're going to have some install days.
00:56He talked about tailoring even the contact periods in certain ways
01:00so that they're not taxing guys too much physically.
01:03Last year, it just felt like they just got into 11-on-11 and went,
01:07and that was the whole practice.
01:09And I think this year is going to be a lot more varied, a lot more nuanced.
01:12Yeah, just another thing Vrabel said, and we'll get into more of this,
01:14and you can certainly react at 617-779-0985.
01:19That's the phone number.
01:20The last question, I believe, was from Gasper, his impact on winning.
01:26And he kept talking about teaching and developing and connecting with the players.
01:32Yeah.
01:33I'm not sure they were able to do that the last couple of years.
01:37And what I mean by that is a lot of these guys get drafted, get thrown in,
01:42and there was expectation there.
01:44There are expectations, don't get me wrong,
01:47but I think he wants to teach them how he wants them to play and connect with them.
01:52And he talked about buckets, right?
01:53The good, the bad, and don't get beat.
01:57Right.
01:58So I felt like that was his impact on the team.
02:01And I like that answer because that goes back to something that I've been big on.
02:04He had that answer in his introductory press conference
02:07when he was asked about the pillars of his program and saying,
02:10right now we're not good enough to overcome bad football,
02:14and we need to be better than that.
02:16And do you look at their schedule?
02:17There's a lot of bad football on their schedule this year.
02:19If they can just take advantage of bad football,
02:21that could be six or seven wins right there.
02:24So we heard Jabril Peppers mention that too in the Forge and Foxborough clip with him.
02:30So it's nice to hear that that continues to be a theme,
02:32and he feels they're making progress in that regard.
02:34This guy's for real.
02:36He ain't messing around.
02:38Be ready to go down there.
02:39If the team's ready to go, the media better be ready to go.
02:43I was going to say, if he's going to set an expectation to the players and himself,
02:47and speaking of urgency and time, we got to be on our stuff too, Alex.
02:51Jesus, I got to sit down with him tomorrow.
02:54First one for all access.
02:55I better have ready to go.
02:57It's sort of a window into the fact that he is most certainly not Bill Belichick,
03:02and he's most certainly not Gerard Mayo.
03:04Can I tell you this?
03:05Doing postgame, I would wait and wait and wait for the coach.
03:10Wait.
03:11Now, last year, he came right out and got fired.
03:15Right.
03:16Right?
03:17But there were times we would wait for Bill and be like, what the?
03:20Oh, yeah.
03:20I'll never forget when Brady came back that game.
03:23Where the hell was he?
03:24Well, I think they were talking, right?
03:26Him and Brady were talking.
03:26But no, there were games where he'd be last after all the players.
03:30No, I like that.
03:32And by the way, that hasn't been a thing here.
03:35There's been no consistency on when a quarterback speaks or a coach speaks or whatever.
03:40He was prompt.
03:41He was on time.
03:43We promoted the fact that there was going to be an 1130 press conference.
03:46He might have been there right at 1129, to be honest with you.
03:49But I felt that today when he talked about urgency in a way that they practice.
03:55No time to waste.
03:57We have to learn about the next situation.
04:00And he talked about it as huddle in a play.
04:03When you run a play, get right back into the huddle to be ready for the next situation.
04:08And that's urgency.
04:10I said this yesterday.
04:11And, Alex, you talked about it when he was doing the press conference.
04:14I'm noticing urgency in many different areas, whether it's getting a guy signed, whether it's a guy being ready for day one, whether it's signing a guy, etc.
04:23There's urgency.
04:25I think he set that expectation.
04:26And I like the fact that the next situation is the next one he's preparing for.
04:31And he wants to get everybody in order on that.
04:33Plus, he said, I'm not going to answer the same question twice.
04:35What was he asked about?
04:3690?
04:36No, 91.
04:3791.
04:37Yeah, he had that on top of his head, too.
04:39He's ready to go.
04:40He's ready to go.
04:41That's a good sign.
04:41It's a good sign for the football team.
04:43I think the Patriots need this.
04:45There's been five years of this, right?
04:46I don't know if you were in a coma or if you were tweeting.
04:49Was that the response?
04:50Does that qualify as drama for you guys?
04:52Wow, that's drama.
04:52It's a little bit of drama.
04:54Yeah, there you go.
04:55Sure.
04:55Hey, writers.
04:56I'll take it.
04:57Alex, you do your job.
04:58But hey, writers, don't have a donut and come in late and not hear a question.
05:03What the hell is this in your locker, pal?
05:06By the way, yesterday, I want to keep the callers responsible.
05:11There's a segment when the hosts aren't listening.
05:13How about when the listeners aren't listening?
05:14You lost it.
05:15I think I have a right.
05:17If Mike Vrabel is setting urgency, I'm going to set urgency with everybody.
05:21Damn it.
05:22Love it.
05:23Love it.
05:24Why wasn't Private Pyle's box locked?
05:28Why wasn't it?
05:29Because the jelly donut was in there.
05:30That's right.
05:33Anything else, Alex?
05:34I had urgency.
05:37He mentioned the guys that were placed on PUP.
05:40Yeah.
05:40He set an expectation for everything.
05:44When have we ever seen transparency with the New England Patriots?
05:47No, straight up.
05:48Carlton Davis will be back out there.
05:50I think there was even one guy.
05:52I think it was Josh Minkins, your guy.
05:54He always said, you know, it might be a couple days, but he'll be out there soon.
05:59Kind of laid it all out.
06:00Not a lot of guessing in there.
06:01Just so you guys want to go, Josh Minkins Jr. was on the night show.
06:05Had him on last week.
06:05Nice little interview.
06:06Oh, you did?
06:07I sent it to you.
06:08He was out by text.
06:08So, I'm going to hold you responsible by saying he's wearing number 16.
06:12Oh, nice.
06:13And I put you over.
06:15Okay.
06:15And I said, I'm going to have Zoe come say hi to you, is what I said.
06:18So, now you're going to have to go say hi to him.
06:20You probably know his dad, but he and his college coach for one game, Deion Branch at
06:26the Fenway Bowl.
06:28It'll be a safety for the Patriots this year.
06:30Tavai's back, huh?
06:31Yeah.
06:32Didn't he have a scary incident?
06:33He did.
06:34And then it was kind of reported after.
06:36It looked scary.
06:37And then it was reported after the fact that he dodged a major injury.
06:41So, I thought he might miss a little bit of time.
06:44That's a good sign for him.
06:44That's a guy that's right on the bubble.
06:46Is going to be fighting for a roster spot.
06:48One of those depth linebacker spots.
06:49So, good news for him that he'll be back out there.
06:51Good news for them that Carlton Davis will be back out there.
06:54That was kind of the one big surprise in terms of the players who were included of those
06:58seven guys on those lists on whatever it was, Saturday.
07:01Not expecting Carlton Davis to pop up there.
07:03But it sounds like whatever that issue was, it's been taken care of.
07:07And he'll be out there.
07:08So, that's an important guy.
07:09Him and Christian Gonzalez.
07:10I said this back in March.
07:12And I'll say it again.
07:14I do like Harold Landry.
07:16I think he's a good player.
07:17I think Caleb Vaughn Chason's a nice little pickup.
07:19The best thing they did for their pass rush was sign Carlton Davis.
07:22Because between him and Christian Gonzalez.
07:24And then if both of the safeties are healthy and Duggar and Peppers.
07:27That's a really good secondary.
07:29A really good secondary.
07:30And there's going to be a lot more time now for these pass rushers to get after the quarterback.
07:34I think you're going to see, if everybody's healthy, quite a few coverage sacks this year.
07:38Because I think they're just that good in the secondary.
07:40But Carlton Davis is a big part of that.
07:42And it was also confirmed.
07:44Big T is back.
07:45Yep.
07:46Terrell Williams is there.
07:48One thing he did mention, that I've been questioning the run defense.
07:54Wasn't Terrell Williams like a stout defensive line coach?
07:57Yeah.
07:57You just talked about Davis coming in and having that.
08:00Those guys can kind of help out the rest of the defense.
08:03Yeah.
08:03Well, if Terrell Williams can put an emphasis on that defensive line, I think it's the layers and where it's going to help out.
08:10I still talk about the safety position.
08:12But if they can get that D-line on right, a defense can have two expectations.
08:17D-line looks formidable.
08:18You get all their health out there.
08:20You get Barmore.
08:21You get Williams.
08:22You get White.
08:25Yeah, White.
08:26Harold Landry.
08:26Harold Landry.
08:27Spillane in the middle.
08:28There's no depth behind Spillane.
08:30That's something to keep an eye on, too.
08:32And then roll the dice on the other side.
08:34Get the kid from LSU.
08:35He's an edge guy.
08:36He was supposed to go second, first round.
08:38Dropped all the way down to the fifth.
08:40But it's a formidable front seven for you.
08:42And then you get your two corners.
08:43You've got safeties.
08:44The one thing I do wonder that we'll be watching, Milton Williams really didn't play the run in Philly.
08:48Never played more than 50% of the snaps.
08:50There was a situational pass rush guy.
08:51I can't wait to see what his role is going to be.
08:52I want to know what the front's going to be.
08:54I want to know if it's under, if it's going to be over.
08:55So, he's going to have a bigger role.
08:57We don't know exactly what it's going to be.
08:58He's not playing 50% of the snaps after signing that contract.
09:01That number's going to be closer to 75-80.
09:03So, you know, you have him.
09:05You have Barmore coming back after missing most of last year when they were just not a good run team.
09:09They don't have, they have Kyrus Tonga, who's that true-nosed tackle, but he's a pure situational player.
09:14That's not a guy that's going to be out there on first and ten.
09:17Jeremiah Farms back?
09:18Jeremiah Farms is back.
09:19He's another guy that's probably more situational.
09:21So, you know, being able to stop the run on first and ten, that's Mild Williams.
09:25It's Christian Barmore.
09:26That's Keyon White.
09:27And how do those guys look?
09:28And that's where you look at somebody like Terrell Williams and the rest of his coaching staff that has had success developing players on the defensive front.
09:35And that's where I think a guy that they drafted, Joshua Farmer, out of Florida State, has a chance to earn a big role.
09:40Because he is a plus-run player.
09:42A lot of these guys are primarily pass rushers.
09:44Joshua Farmer is a plus-run player.
09:46And if they are having trouble stopping the run early, or if he's just that good at it, he could work his way into a regular role.
09:53So, full transparency, I wasn't in love with the Vrabel hire at the time.
09:58I wanted an offensive mind.
10:00I feel like that's where the league's going.
10:02Listening to Vrabel, he has my attention.
10:05Yeah.
10:05Yeah.
10:06The transparency is real.
10:08He is setting an expectation.
10:09I mean, isn't this what we ask for?
10:11I mean, right there, just the way he ran that press conference, he's going to make sure that your ass is going to be there on time, and we're going to get through this, and everybody's going to listen.
10:18And we're not going to jack around with repetitive questions.
10:21But as a player, isn't that what you want?
10:24Yeah.
10:24Like, don't you want to know, hey, today we're going to run?
10:26And he even mentioned the five weeks off, you know, running certain conditioning drills, so when we do it, you're ready to go.
10:33They basically said, this is what I want you to work on, and when you come in, we're going to find out who can pass, who isn't, who isn't ready.
10:41So, again, as a player, I'm sure, Zoe, you can speak to this, when you know what's expected of you, right, that means that you can look at film, and he talked about it when it comes to buckets.
10:52If you have an expectation, you'll see what you've done wrong.
10:55You'll see how you got beat, but at the same time, they're going to show you what you did well.
11:01That's all you ask for in a coach, right?
11:02Hey, I'm here to show up.
11:04I'm in shape, but I want to be coached well and in transparency.
11:08I just never thought to see transparency with the don't-go pitchers, ever.
11:13There it is.
11:14You just saw it.
11:14You just heard it.
11:15It's there, everybody.
11:17Your thoughts on Mike Vrabel's press conference today, 617-779-0985.
11:22I'm starting to think Mike Vrabel will have an impact on the team winning.
11:28That's nice.
11:29Good for you, Joe.
11:30I didn't feel that way.
11:31I just thought that maybe it was normalcy or comfort of familiarity.
11:37No, now I think he...
11:39I think you saw the more jovial Vrabel.
11:41This is the, let's go to work.
11:43Yeah, but it's, yeah, go to work, but I now see where he makes an impact, right?
11:48And the other thing I want to bring up is, we've talked a lot about the defense and the expectation here.
11:57How does Mike Vrabel help the offense?
11:59And I think this, the line has needed some consistency.
12:03I think the quarterback position, he even mentioned limiting turnovers and how to hold the football while wearing pads.
12:10These are the little details, I think, some of these guys who come from college, right?
12:15The new college game is NIL and, you know, cater to these guys.
12:21They might not know how to do certain things.
12:23I think Vrabel wants to initiate these things in camp.
12:26And once the pads are on, it's a full-time competition.
12:30It's a full-time competition.
12:31And then, in fact, most of them, they can take care of the division.
12:32There is a good part of this.
12:33But the other thing is, it is a high-cost competition.
12:34And that's how to do certain things in camp.
12:35And that's why we're ending up in the age of the game.
12:37So we're going to be talking about the weather.
12:37I think that's a pretty big part of this item.
12:38We're going to move into this.
12:39So I think I'm going to see what happens, and I want to see things in the future.
12:40But I think that's a really big part of this very big part of this line.
12:41And I think that's a really big part of this issue.
12:42But why I want to do certain things.
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